Background: Creativity is associated with many pet beliefs, unfounded or based on limited personal experiences and observations.
Aims: The intention of the present study is to take the research one step backward to look at possible antecedents of beliefs regarding creativity, as such knowledge has implications for education where creativity is concerned. The present study attempts at uncovering the beliefs regarding various aspects of creativity among tertiary students in Hong Kong.
Sample: Students (N=139) from a teacher education institute (67.6%) and a university (32.4%) in Hong Kong were asked to complete a questionnaire about beliefs in creativity. Participation was voluntary and the respondents were assured of anonymity. As the respondents formed a convenient sample (as is true of many studies of similar nature), no representation is claimed.
Method: A questionnaire of 30 items that included 15 aspects of beliefs in creativity was presented to the respondents in the form of a series of six-point Likert scales. To avoid possible carrying-over effect, the two items for the same aspect were separated systematically, with items for the other aspects intervening. Surveys were conducted and the general written responses received from the respondents were tabulated.
Results: The respondents agreed more strongly that creativity (a) is dependent of culture, (b) is the result of consistent effort, (c) can be found in everyone, and (d) is general across many fields. On the other hand, they disagreed that creativity has to do with gender and birth order. Five aspects were dropped due to inappropriate reliability.
Conclusion: In view of the complexity of the findings, efforts in developing creativity in tertiary students need to take into account their demographic backgrounds so that correct beliefs can be further strengthened and incorrect ones can be rectified early in the creativity training programmes.
背景：創意常與一些無理由或根據有限的個人經驗和觀察的信念聯繫在一起

Background: Social circus has long been the folklore in the Chinese culture. Recently, initiatives have been undergoing to introduce it in the school physical education curriculum in Hong Kong.
Aims: This article reports a study on 38 PE teachers' professional learning experiences while attending two 2-day workshops respectively concerning learning how to teach social circus in school.
Method: Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through post workshop evaluation questionnaire and interviews of 16 randomly selected participants. The interpretive inquiry was adopted as theoretical framework for generating meanings.
Results: The findings indicated that all participants perceived their professional learning experiences positively. Factors facilitating their professional learning were the participants' high professional expectation of the workshop, rich content of the program that could satisfy their novel experience and enhance their teaching, and the instructors' good performance. They believed that social circus could be developed for cultivating students' motor skills, physical fitness, Chinese cultural heritage, personal qualities, creativity and satisfaction as well as serving as inclusive activities. However, lacking of teaching materials, incompetence in professional skills, inadequate supply of equipment, anticipated managerial and safety concerns and the support from other PE colleagues were found to be the major difficulties for its implementation. On the other hand, high professional expectation, satisfying and novel experience, learning something, helpful with teaching, rich content and good instructors' performance were enhancing factors for their professional learning. The findings generate understanding and insights on how serving PE teachers' learn to improve their curricular practices for maximizing students' learning.
背景：雜藝是一項具中華文化特色的民間體育活動。近年來，一些老師已嘗試將雜藝引進於學校體育課程內。
目的：本文旨在報告38位中小學體育教師於2個兩天雜藝工作坊的專業學習經歷。

Background: The Project Yi Jin (PYJ), an alternative pathway for secondary school leavers and adults to further their education, has been receiving full support from the government, the Federation for Continuing Education in Tertiary Institutions (FCE) in Hong Kong and the public. Graduates of PYJ have the equivalent academic status of their counterparts in the main stream education. It was first implemented in 2000/01 by the FCE and has been offered to more than 35,000 students by 2006/07. With the success of the programme as a safety-net for a mass education system, it should continue to function more vigorously as new reforms are being implemented in the Hong Kong education scene in the future. The Chief Executive in his 2004 Policy Address has set out the direction to develop a new secondary and university system, i.e., (3+3) for secondary + 4 (tertiary) [the old one is (3+2+2)+3], to be launched in 2010/11, that will effectively prepare the next generation to cope with the challenges of the 21st century and the demands of the rapidly developing knowledge-based society. The new system, together with substantial modified curricula including the newly developed applied learning courses (ApL), is supposed to be able to look after all secondary students.
Aims and focus of discussion: This paper aims to argue the necessity of launching a new version of Project Yi Jin (nPYJ) concurrently together with the new 3+3+4 academic system. In light of the contemporary global educational systems as compared to that of Hong Kong, it is postulated that the launching of nPYJ as a continuation of the successful PYJ is both legitimate and indispensable with regard to the carefully observed current global fashion of lifelong learning and continuing education in which diversity, equity, and flexibility are highly valued.
Method: A comprehensive comparative review was carried out on eleven selected oriental and occidental countries and regions, namely, Australia, Canada, Germany

Background: In Hong Kong, secondary school students face high levels of stress due to the examination oriented curricula. According to Sun (2006), some secondary school students cannot bear the pressure when facing the examinations, and some of them may exhibit destructive behaviors such as suicide and bullying. Therefore, cases of school bullying break out frequently (Ming Pao, 2003, 2004). Moreover, school alienation contributes to the risk of bullying while support from teachers and peers decreases one's tendency towards bullying (Natvig et al., 2001).
Aims: The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between students' stress and bullying. Based on an insight into prevention of bullying in school, some applicable strategies to prevent students' academic and interpersonal stress will be suggested.
Sample: Altogether 340 Fung Kai No. 1 Secondary School students, 200 boys and 140 girls, participated in the present study.
Methods: Students completed and returned two questionnaires: the Subjective Stress Scale (Li and Ng, 1992) and the Bullying Checklist (Chui, 2001), in class.
Results: The results show that girls felt more stressed than boys in the family, and they also exhibited more social bullying than boys did. Both interpersonal and personal stress are factors leading to bullying.
Conclusion: In the present study, girls felt more stressed than boys in the family. They were eager to be more independent from the family. This arouses conflict between parents and daughter. It was found that Form 3 perceived higher levels of academic and personal stress than Form 1 students. It is understood that they were experiencing identity formation and making decisions on future study in art or science. Provision of a one-week orientation program for Form 1 students before the commencement of the school term is recommended. Finally, workshops for parents were introduced to enhance parent-child relationships and to help them communicate

Background: A limited amount of research has been conducted on children and adolescents who are low achievers. In Hong Kong, educators describe low achieving students in terms of academic performance, they seldom focus on socio-emotional aspects, such as self-esteem, peer affiliation, and inter-personal relationships. However, low achieving students could also be described differently in different contexts. Students who experience difficulties academically are characterized as having difficulties in studying, completing assignments and organizing information Therefore, this study attempts to explore the impact of the transitions from primary school to secondary school among low achieving students on their peer affiliation and the reciprocal effect of self-esteem and academic outcomes, using data triangulation and methodological triangulation (different methods, i.e., observation, journal entries, portfolios and interviews) (Denzin, 1978).
Aims: This study examined the effects of a peer support programme in smoothing the transition to adolescence and secondary school for students in the first year of secondary school by enhancing self-esteem, peer affiliations and academic performance.
Sample: Participants in the study were students from a secondary school in Hong Kong. Seven form-one students participated three times weekly in groups facilitated by a trainer and older students. Method: The methods of data triangulation and time series design were employed. Data was collected from teacher interviews, observational field notes, inter-rater checklists, and conversations with students.
Results: The results suggested that the peer support programme has significant effects on students' academic outcomes and peer affiliations.
Conclusion: Three major findings arise from this investigation. First, the overall effectiveness of the peer support programme could enhance the students' academic performance and peer affiliations, this was agreed by the participants

Background: Teacher Participation in decision-making is one of the recommendations of school-based management and one of the key characteristics of an effective school. Although teacher participation in decision making is claimed to be correlated with their affective outcome, few researchers have been attempted to verify the predictive effectiveness of participation in different decision domains under a multi-dimensional participatory model on their affective outcomes. This study intends to identify an empirical participatory model ought to help school administrators involve teachers in appropriate decisions for improving teachers' affective outcomes, which result in quality decision-making.
Aims: To examine theoretically the causal relationship between teacher participation in decision-making and their affective outcome for developing a participatory decision model, and identify the decision domains that would assist school administrators to effectively involve teachers in decision-making under the school-based management policy.
Sample: Questionnaires were sent to 20 secondary schools in Hong Kong. A total of 335 teacher-completed questionnaires were collected from all the target schools.
Methods: Theoretical model and questionnaires were constructed by synthesizing theories from literatures, principal axis factor analysis and reliability test were used to validate the constructed validity and reliability of the questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was applied to validate the participatory model and estimate the correlation among the variables.
Results: The results showed that a multi-dimensional decision was identified by the structural equation modeling, the relationship among the variables of the model were also explored. The three dimensional decision model includes instructional, curriculum and managerial domains; and the variables of the affective outcome include job satisfaction, job commitment and perception of workload. All

Background: In recent years, more and more secondary schools in Hong Kong begin to employ service learning in designing student learning activities. A vast majority of these attempts is developed based on the philanthropic ideas of altruism, love and care; it involves serving elderly people living in the elderly homes far away from the school community. While it is quite right to say that both the students and the elderly people benefit from these projects; the connection of these students to their community, as well as the student learning from the senior citizens in these projects are still in question. In other words, there is a missing linkage between student learning and the community in these philanthropic service learning projects.
Aims or focus of discussion: In this paper, we suggest to bridge this missing linkage with the concept "classroom in community" to connect students, and their learning, with the community.
Arguments / comments /suggestion: Based on the service learning curriculum derived by us with local secondary schools, we will illustrate how "classroom in community" could facilitate students to learn from and learn for their community, and to act with the community to co-produce public goods. Examples of community based services for elderly people will be used to further elaborate how students could initiate community services through collective dialogues with the community, in these cases, to get connected with their community by serving the elderly people and learning from them as senior citizens.
Conclusion: A summary of the characteristics of the approach of classroom in community to service learning is suggested to conclude the paper.
背景：近年，香港越來越多中學開始嘗試以服務學習作為教學活動。當中大部份的計劃，多以推廣關懷慈愛或慈善救濟作為理念基礎，而服務對象大多是遠離學校所在社區的長者。誠然，從上述服務當中，學生與長者是有所得著的。但是，在這些計劃能否連繫學生與身處社區和使學生從長者身上學習這兩個問題上，就值得存疑。換句話說，這些以慈善為理念基礎的服務學習計劃，欠缺了結連學生學習於身處的社區當中。
目的或討論焦點：我們透過本文提出善用“社區有教室”的概念來彌補這些不足，把學生、學習、以及社區三者緊密地結連起來。
論點/評論/建議：根據我們在中學進行服務學習課程的經驗，我們將透過本文說明

Background: "Spirituality Education" of children has gained more concern in recent years, but there is a lack of consensus for its meaning. Some literatures regard Spirituality Education as Religious Education, while quite many literatures have shown a close relationship between Spirituality Education and Humanistic Education, which could be unrelated with Religious Education. What is the meaning of "Spirituality Education" being mentioned by the ECE reformers after all? Is it the former or the later? The Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum (2006) proposed "Lifelong learning" and "Holistic Learning", affirming the need of child-centredness (Humanistic Education) in curriculum. If so, there is a likelihood that "Spirituality Education"has a closer connection with humanistic education than with religious education. It is therefore vital to clarify the meaning of "Spirituality Education"for fostering the current early childhood educational reform. This paper seeks to explore if Spirituality Education has been misunderstood by the early childhood education practitioners with a result that hindering the implementation of educational reform.
Focus of Discussion: Through literatures review and the author's interpretation, this paper attempts to demonstrate that Spirituality Education is actually closely related with Humanistic Education and Holistic Education. Spirituality Education shares similar elements with that of liberal studies, in which the concerned areas and aspects of knowledge are widespread. Hence, it is not limited in promoting Religious Education. And pedagogies adopted in Spirituality Education mainly emphasize diversified and critical thinking. The rationales behind Spirituality Education are closely related with that of Humanistic Education and Holistic Education. Spirituality Education has no direct relation with Religious Education which emphasizes direct transmission of religious dogma.
Suggestion: In view of the importance of the role of Spirituality

Background: In the early 1980s, the author of this article researched, in her M.Ed thesis, the state of adult education in Hong Kong with regard to its general support and delivery through university channels. At that time, adult education had a separate identity and, since, has generally become vocationalized, creditized or subsumed into postsecondary education and part-time higher education. Dr. Shak's recent book to be published: Lifelong Education: Consensus in Characteristics and Practices (2008), describes what adult education has evolved into globally. In this article, her research of the 1980s is revisited and considered in contemporary context.
Aims: The study explored a training programme for adult educators in universities in Hong Kong. Administrative arrangements, including funding, staffing, the provision of facilities, and a curriculum were of key focus. Interviewees were immersed in the adult education of their era.
Method: An examination of administrative arrangements and development of curriculum was done based on a needs assessment model. Identification of problems was based on literature internationally, and questionnaires and interviews with respect to relative stakeholders.
Results: Findings were that, for adult education, universities were ideal for training administrators and specialists who could, in turn, provide part-time in-service training for volunteers and part-time teachers. Further, an appropriate curriculum was devised.
Conclusion: Dr. Shak's research of some 25 years ago yielded seven recommendations, all of which--of interest--now characterize (in some form) not only education in Hong Kong, but also continuing education and lifelong education globally today. This article provides information that highlights the historical, conceptual, and empirical development of adult education and its derivatives that point the way to the future.
背景：早在20世紀80年代，在她的碩士論文裡，作者已經研究了在香港通過大學的管道為成年人教育提供支持和幫助的狀況。那時，成人教育已經成 一種另類的個體

Background: To tie in with the education reform and cope with needs of students' growth, all primary schools in Hong Kong has implemented the Comprehensive Student Guidance System since 2002. The system covers four domains of services. This study looked into cultivating school caring culture which belongs to the domain of "policy and organization" and investigated how staff of primary schools in Hong Kong cultivates school caring culture.
Purpose: To investigate good practices of cultivating caring culture in schools and factors causing the success.
Sample: Three focus groups and student guidance teachers of four sampled schools.
Method: Analysis of responses collected in semi-structured interviews of focus groups and sampled schools.
Results: Participating student guidance teachers mentioned many good practices of cultivating caring culture and three factors causing the success, including leadership and acting as role models by principals, encouragement and strengthening of the culture by teaching teams, and participation by all teachers and students of the schools.
Conclusion: This study brought up good practices of cultivating school caring culture and factors for success thus has significant implications for school practitioners, policy makers and teacher educators.
背景：為配合教育改革及學生成長的需要，本港小學於2002年推行「全方位學生輔導服務」體系，此體系涵蓋四個範疇，本研究選取了「政策及組織」範疇中之建構學校關顧文化作探討，探究香港小學的教職員如何建構學校之關顧文化。
目的：探究建構學校關顧文化之優良範例及其背後之促成因素。
研究對象：三個聚焦小組及四所個案學校的輔導老師。
研究方法：分析聚焦小組及個案學校之半結構式訪談。
研究結果：受訪輔導老師提出了很多建構關顧文化之優良範例，而促成因素有三個，包括校長之帶領和示範，教職員團隊之策動和鞏固，及全校教職員和師生之參與。
結論：研究提出了建立學校關顧文化之範例和促成因素，給教育工作者、政策制定者和師資培訓者帶來啟迪。
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